Rowling wrote a story that unlocked the imagination like few books have ever done before. And don’t get me wrong, the unlocking, the communal mind-meld of it all, was great, honking fun. It’s just a little disappointing that in so intensely exercising our imaginations, we may have cheated ourselves out of the element of surprise.

REVIEW: KEITH RICHARDS'S LIFE | November 09, 2010 The title says it all: Life isn't just an autobiography, it's Keith Richards's Guide to Good Living.

NOTHING BEATS NOTHING | March 02, 2010 Jerry Seinfeld held out on a Seinfeld reunion till last year, when he finally found a way to do a comeback that wasn't really a comeback. He and Seinfeld co-creator Larry David resurrected the greatest sit-com of the '90s as a show-within-a-show on David's Curb Your Enthusiasm . The reunion made Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer hilariously relevant again.

MORE THAN MORMONS | January 06, 2010 Despite the comparably juicy family dysfunction it offers, Big Love hasn't achieved the iconic status of its HBO predecessor The Sopranos . Maybe viewers relate better to the mob than to Mormons.

VEGAS AND JUNGLELAND | November 24, 2009 Paul Shaffer is a happenin’ cat. Pick an It Moment from pop culture over the past 30 years and Shaffer was there. He was an original band member on Saturday Night Live . He played hapless promo guy Artie Fufkin in This Is Spinal Tap . Disco? He co-wrote “It’s Raining Men.” And he helped David Letterman break ground as his glittery, ironic bandleader/sidekick.

THE THRILLER IS GONE | June 30, 2009 With the release of Bad (Epic), Michael Jackson ends a recording hiatus of nearly five years. He could have stayed away for 10 years and still not have escaped the shadow of Thriller , the biggest-selling album of all time.